The Violence Against Women Act of 2000 required
the Department of Justice to develop a national
protocol for sexual assault forensic examinations.
This task was delegated to the Office on Violence
Against Women (OVW), which convened experts in
health care, criminal justice, forensic science, and
victim advocacy to contribute to the protocol. The
goals of the protocol are
twofold: 1) to ensure that all
victims, whatever their background
or wherever they are
treated, receive the same
high-quality medical and
forensic examination and are
treated with respect and compassion;
and 2) to improve
prosecution of sexual assault
cases through the appropriate
collection of evidence. The National
Protocol for Sexual Assault
Medical Forensic
Examinations is currently
available on the OVW Web site
(http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ovw/206554.pdf) and
through the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.
National training standards for sexual assault
medical forensic examinations are being developed
for use in conjunction with the protocol.